Koval Autumn Orchard
Ingredients
KOVAL Cranberry Gin Liqueur
An enticing blend of fruit-forward and bittersweet flavors, surrounded by the crisp, well-rounded notes of KOVAL Gin's signature 13 botanicals. An homage to aperitif culture, it is an excellent base for easy, enticing cocktails for all seasons - simply mix with a splash of Prosecco or any sparkling water, and a signature spritz is born! Made from all-natural ingredients sourced directly from organic Midwestern farmers. 60 Proof
Apple Cider
Fee Brother’s Rhubarb Bitters
Cranberry Juice Cocktail
Fresh Rosemary
Cinnamon Sticks
Gelatin
Fresh Lime Juice
Nonpareils
Brown Sanding Sugar Crystals
How it’s made…
This shot is made in two layers.
Your first layer is a thin smoked rosemary and cinnamon layer that compliments the cider and gives the shot its depth. The mold that you choose to use will determine how much you need to make. We suggest just a thing layer, no more than 1/4” thick for this layer. This layer will naturally be clear but you can also add a drop of food coloring (we used green) to give the shot more visual dimension. To make 1.4 cups, sprinkle 3.75 teaspoons of gelatin into 3/4 cup of warm water. Stir slowly until the gelatin is softened and you no longer see any clumps. Add 1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice and stir. Then add in 3/4 cup of boiling water and gently stir until you have a smooth, clear gelatin.
To smoke the gelatin, we used a wooden cutting board, and bowl that would give the gelatin as much surface area as possible, and a large Pyrex bowl to create a cover for the bowl. Light your rosemary on fire and once the flames go away place the smoking rosemary under the Pyrex. Do the same with a cinnamon stick. We did this a few times and slowly moved the cutting board back and forth to allow the smoke to mingle with the gelatin.
Once you feel like you have significantly smoked your gelatin, grab a spoon and pull out a little taste test. When ready, carefully pour the thin layer into your mold and refrigerate it until it is fully set.
Once your first layer is completely set, you will start working on your second layer. For this layer we mixed 3/4 cup KOVAL Cranberry Gin with 1 cup cold apple cider and 1/4 cup cranberry juice in a bowl. We then used a micro planer to add some fresh cinnamon and 5 dashes of Fee Brother’s Rhubarb Bitters. Then slowly stir in 7.5 teaspoons of gelatin until the gelatin appears to be dissolved. Then stir in 1 cup of hot apple cider and gently stir until you have a smooth consistency.
Allow your mixture to sit for 5 minutes to cool so the heat of the new mixture will not affect your thin smoked layer. After the five minutes pass, hold a spoon over your smoked layer of gelatin and slowly add in your cider layer. The spoon should act as a barrier so the cider mixture is not directly hitting the thin smoked layer. Once all of the cider mixture is poured into your mold, refrigerate for a minimum of three hours then remove the shots from your mold and enjoy.
If you choose to garnish your shots you can use nonpareils or brown sanding sugar crystals. Just remember that your sugar crystals will slowly absorb the moisture from the shot so you do not want to garnish them ahead of time!
There’s no sense sitting around waiting for the gelatin to get firm.
Make yourself a cocktail while you wait for the gelatin to sit.
Autumn Orchard
2 oz KOVAL Cranberry Gin Liqueur
4 oz apple cider
2 dashes aromatic bitters
Build ingredients over ice and garnish with thinly sliced apple.
*image and recipe courtesy of KOVAL